Thousands likely at event highlighting health careers

An Occupy protester and a double amputee who became the chairman of one of the country’s largest medical organizations are among those set to speak at an event likely to draw an estimated 7,000 students to campus this weekend.

The 11th annual UC Davis Pre-Medical and Pre-Health Professions National Conference for high school, community college and university students will feature more than 200 workshops on career opportunities, preparing for admission exams, financing an education and other topics. The event will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

More than 400 education programs will take part in the “Pre-Health Professions Fair” from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days on the Quad.

Among those set to speak at the Pavilion, where the event will be headquartered:

* 8:15 a.m. Saturday: Art Chen, senior fellow at Asian Health Services in Oakland, will speak on the role of physicians as health policy advocates beyond the exam room. Chen, who was 60 years old at the time, was profiled in Time magazine’s 2011 “Person of the Year” issue, focusing on protesters from around the world, for his role in Occupy Oakland.

* 9 a.m. Saturday: Ernie Bodai, director of the Kaiser Permanente’s Breast Health Center in Sacramento, on advancing awareness for and promoting clinical research as the co-founder of the Breast Cancer Research Stamp.

* 8:05 a.m. Sunday: Jeff Cain, chairman of the American Academy of Family Physicians, on the importance of primary care physicians, how he overcame his own obstacles as a double amputee and the stigma of disability in medicine.

* 8:28 a.m. Sunday: Carlos Pellegrini, president of the American College of Surgeons, on overcoming obstacles that immigrants face in pre-medical education.

The event is organized by the UCD Pre-Health Student Alliance with pre-med and pre-health organizations from Sacramento City College, American River College and Sacramento State University.

Students have offered 1,500 fee waivers and will bus 2,000 students from 13 locations throughout California, according to a news release.

General admission is $60. For registration information and a complete program, see www.ucdprehealth.org. Walk-in registration will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, depending on the number of open seats.